Chapter ONE - Weebly

sighing. “You can come in for a moment or two.”
Holin and Ethan ascended the low steps leading to
the door and entered the house. It had been warm out
on the street, but it was cooler inside. Candle flames
reflected off the polished wood floor of the sitting room
and the warm scent of that pudding Clara had
mentioned made Ethan’s stomach growl. He crossed to
the empty hearth to wait for Elli.
“Holin, get out of those clothes,” she said. “And
Clara, darling, why don’t you check on the pudding
again.”
“But, Mother, it’s done.”
“Yes, well, you can make certain it’s still warm.”
“Yes, Mother,” Clara said in a flat voice.
Elli walked into the room but halted several feet
from him. Ethan silently cursed himself for wishing that
she would come closer. She had always been stunning
—black hair, green eyes, olive skin—and the years had
done nothing to diminish her beauty. But through all the
time he had spent in the cane fields she had remained
frozen in his mind as the young woman he had left at the
wharves when the Ruby Blade sailed. To this day that